The invention pertains to the field of aids for the handicapped. More particularly, the invention pertains to devices to help handicapped people to pick up small items which are otherwise out of reach.
It is a major problem for the aged or handicapped to pick up objects which are out of reach, whether on the floor or on a shelf. Many elderly or handicapped people are confined to wheelchairs or in bed and cannot move sufficiently to reach objects even on their own level. Often they lack sufficient strength in their hands to properly grip an item, even if they could pick it up otherwise.
There have been many attempts at reaching aids for the handicapped and other similar applications in the prior art. Also common in the prior art are the shelf reachers used in grocery stores to reach cans on high shelves. Those of which I am aware which have been patented are the following:
______________________________________ Inventor U.S. Pat. No. Date ______________________________________ Ulbricht 465,222 1891 Mason 2,346,038 1944 Sisson 3,093,402 1963 Hollis 3,425,734 1969 Elmore 3,591,226 1971 Smith 4,200,322 1980 Van Zelm 4,231,603 1980 Van Zelm 4,374,600 1983 Corboy 4,441,746 1984 Rosenfield 4,527,824 1985 ______________________________________
All of the above, except Rosenfeld, are manual mechanical aids, often combined with a cane or other support. These devices present major problems for the frail elderly, who often cannot exert enough gripping force to close a mechanical gripper, or hold a grip long enough to retrieve the object, if they could exert a large enough initial force.
It is thus an object of the invention to present a gripping and reaching aid for the handicapped which does not require any physical effort to establish or hold a grip.
Rosenfeld is an electric device using a small fan to create a vacuum at the end of cane. While this might work to pick up especially light flat objects such as single sheets of paper, it would be impractical for anything of even minor weight or roughness.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a reaching aid which is capable of lifting objects of irregular shape and more than negligable weight.